Major League Baseball salaries: 2007

Major League Baseball salaries

May 14, 2008 12:38 PM

The average player’s salary on the New York Yankees rose 17 percent over the past four years, while the salaries for the New York Mets jumped by 24 percent between 2004 and 2007. Overall, the average player’s salary rose 22 percent in Major League Baseball in the past four years.

When it came to annual salaries last year, the Yankees’ designated hitter, Jason Giambi, topped the list by earning an estimated $23.4 million, followed by the team’s third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. On the Mets, first baseman Carlos Delgado topped the salary list with $14.5 million followed closely by pitcher Pedro Martinez with $14 million.

This interactive database lists the estimated 2007 annual salary for 857 Major League Baseball players, along with some details for another 51 ballplayers on rosters last year. The annual salary figures were compiled by USA Today. Other details were provided by the Major League Baseball Players Association, including average salaries by position.

For more details on the salary figures, see the information below the database on this page or click on the “details” page in the database and click on “Salary documentation.” You can also see 2008 Major League Baseball salaries by clicking here: 2008 Major League Baseball salaries

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Major League Baseball Salaries

The 2007 salaries listed in this database, compiled by USA TODAY, includes players who were on the Opening Day roster. This data does not include any players that have signed with teams or negotiated contracts since then. Actually salary figures also do not include totals for multi-year contracts or any other financial compensation, such as endorsements, etc.

The salary information includes estimates for 857 Major League Baseball players, along with some details for another 51 ballplayers on rosters last year. Note: The annual salary figures were compiled by USA Today while other details were provided by the Major League Baseball Players Association, including average salaries by position.

Here is an explanation of the information found in the database:

Teams: In most cases, the players are listed with their 2007 teams. This data doesn’t include any trades that occurred after Opening Day or in the off season. For example, Johan Santana is listed with Minnesota, not with the NY Mets. In all, more than 20 pitchers began with one team Opening Day and changed teams throughout 2007.

Games played 2007: This highlights the players who have participated in the most regular season games. Position players (such as the infielders and outfielders) who played in 100 or more regular season games have this designation: “100+ games.” For starting pitchers, only those who had 19 or more starts last year have this: “19+ starts.” Pitchers are listed as relievers only if they had 25 or more relief appearances and 10 or fewer starts. Relievers are designated with this classification: “25+ relief appearances.” The eight designated hitters who participated in 80+ games are listed with this: “80+ games.”

The Major League Baseball Players Association provided this data and calculated mean (or average) salaries based on the 524 players (57 percent) who reached the above designations. For the most part, these are the regular players on each team’s roster. There were a total of 927 Major League Baseball players in 2007.

Salary: These salary figures came from USA Today and are based on the amount each player was scheduled to receive in 2007. Actual salaries of each player will vary, depending on trades, contract renegotiations, transfers from the minor leagues and other transactions. The salaries for 51 players of the 908 players listed in the database are not available.

Average salary (Position): This is the average salary (also known as the mean) for that position based on the amount of playing time described above. For example, the mean (or average) first base salary was $5.6 million, which was based on the salaries of 24 first basemen, including Carlos Delgado of the Mets.

Median salary (Position): This was determined by taking each of the available salaries by position (regardless of playing time) and calculating the median. The median salary means half of the players at that position earned more and half earned less. It’s the mid-point salary range. The median salaries of pitchers might be lower than the actual median because the information was not available for 11 pitchers and 36 relievers, mainly because they were not on team rosters on Opening Day.

Difference:This is the dollar difference between the median salary for each position and the player’s actual salary.

Percent difference: This is the percent difference between the median salary for each position and the player’s actual salary.